Nick Pearson Takes up a New Position at John Murray
Nick Pearson, one of the most respected editors in the business who lost his job as Fourth Estate publishing director last year, is to join Hachette’s literary imprint John Murray Publishing (JMP) in February.
Among a glittering roll-call of writers he has published are double Booker-winner Hilary Mantel, Doris Lessing, Jonathan Franzen, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Alan Garner, whose novel Treacle Walker was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize
He starts on 13 February and will report to Nick Davies, MD of JMP. Davies said of Pearson: “I speak from personal experience when I say that Nick is one of the warmest, most generous, most loyal publishers you could ever hope to meet. He has an unerring eye for the finest fiction and non-fiction and is beloved across the industry—by authors and agents, by his colleagues and by his competitors. He will slot in beautifully alongside the hugely talented commissioning team at John Murray.”
Pearson said: “I was lucky enough to work with Nick Davies way back when he was starting out at Fourth Estate. It was no surprise when he soon went on to be such an outstanding publisher and I was thrilled when he asked me to work for him and be part of the brilliant team he has built at John Murray. This is a very exciting new chapter for me. I’ve missed working with writers these past six months and I can’t wait to start.”
Hachette UK CEO David Shelley said: “I’m extremely excited that Nick Pearson is to be joining John Murray. His track record speaks for itself and his taste is perfectly aligned to the rich literary history of the imprint. I think he will do great things.”